Clinical Trials

What Are the Benefits?

Although there are risks with any treatment, there are also many benefits of taking part in a clinical trial. For example:

• Access to promising new treatments that are not available outside of the clinical trial setting.
• The treatment being studied may be better than the standard approach.
• You are followed very closely by a research team that is made up of doctors and other health professionals.
• You may be the first to benefit from the new method. Results from the study may help others in the future.

What Are the Risks?

Before taking part in a clinical trial, talk to your doctor about some of the risks involved with your treatment. For example:

• New drugs or treatments may not be any better than the standard care they are being compared to.
• New treatments may have side effects that are not expected.
• If you are in a randomized trial, you will not be able to choose if you are getting the new treatment or the standard approach.
• Health insurance may not cover all your costs.
• You may be required to make more frequent visits to the doctor.